While no one can tell you which pistol will suit you best I can tell you I really like the S&W M&P9. I'm not a Glock fan although they are also very good pistols. Of those 2 I would without a doubt choose the M&P9...

Like Archie said, they're both great guns. Each has innumerable fans, and reasons vary greatly. I prefer Glock. I don't believe either of them can be said to be better than the other. Just depends how each fit you.

I own both. Either is reliable and will serve you well, but my preference is for the M&P. It just feels better in the hand. The replaceable backstraps are great as I have small hands and use the smallest insert. I can shoot the Glock just fine but its not as comfortable. You can get replacable backstraps on the Gen4 Glocks but then you've got the horrendous finger grooves.

Also, this complaint is pretty minor but I like the dovetailed front sight on the M&P vs the screwed on sight on the Glock.

All in all though, pretty minor stuff. Like I said either will do you well. I don't own one (yet), but have also shot a Ruger SR9 and its also quite a good deal. It has a few drawbacks of its own (also all minor stuff), but I consider it in the same class as the M&P and the Glock.

Probably best to stick with the format you have on your current gun. If that is a glock 40, then practicing with an M&P 9 probably isn't the right answer. The question here is not which do you prefer. The posters here who like the M&P know what they like as do the Glock people. Something led you to own the Glock 40. If you do shoot an M&P and like it, you probably ought to trade the Glock you own and buy the M&P in 9 and 40.

Honestly, unless you really want a Glock, I don't see any advantage the Glock has over the M&P. The M&P is a bit less blocky, and it has ambidextrous slide stop. The Glock has right-hand-only slide stop. Also, unless you get a Gen4 Glock, you are limited to right-hand only mag release (instead of reversible) and there are no interchangeable backstraps pre-gen4. Those might not matter to you, but as a lefty with small hands, these features certainly matter to me. On the M&P you also have the option of a manual safety.

Caracal offers 18 rounds in flush magazine (+1 compared to G19/M&P), XDm offers 19 rounds, both come with ambidextrous mag release. I don't really remember the stats on the XD, but XD/XDm have a grip safety, which some like, some hate - I'm ambivalent towards.

There's also the Ruger SR series, but I haven't looked too much into it as it only comes with a manual safety, something I don't like. They have the longest butt of the slide compared with the other striker-fired options, but they are cheap and a lot of people like them. The last options are a Taurus 24/7 or FN FNS, both which have a lot of ambi controls, but come with manual safety.

Pretty much all of these striker-fired options are nice. As you can tell, as a lefty, ambi controls are very important to me, which is why I'm listing those in the description. How it fits in your hand is also important. Of all the ones I mentioned, XDm or M&P is likely what I'd go with. In fact, I'm still not sure between those which one I want.

I did what Shuler13 and OARNGESI are suggesting; bought a 40-9 conversion for my G27. I liked it so much I bought a G26 and sold the conversion barrel.

The conversion barrel cost about $99 at the time and gave me the option of basically two guns in one at a cost that is far less than a whole gun ... new or used.

Of course you have to be careful, I already had a G17, then bought a baby Glock (G26) because I liked the small 9mm and then bought a Gen4 19. Finding out what you really like can have unanticipated consequences.

I have a 9mm shield, which seems to be fine. But do some research on accuracy issues with any of the other 9mm M&Ps. ONLY the 9mm seems to be effected. And, its a somewhat new issue... Past year or so...

This is one thread that instantly comes to mind. But, there are many others

I don’t want to get into a protracted discussion. That said I have both. The S&W-MP9 ergonomics is its main virtue. The Glock Gen- 4 addresses ergonomic issues but my example is Gen-3. Personally I don’t have a problem with the Glock Gen-3 G-17 nor the great grip angle controversy.

Changes made to the Glock G-17 replaced the OEM barrel with a KKM and changed the sights out to Warren Tactical night sight set

Changes made to the S&W MP9 changed the out the OEM sights to a Novak front night sight and a 10-8 plain “U” notch rear sight. The Magazine OEM base plates changed out to 10-8 base plates.

As for the trigger systems of both pistols yes there is a difference but I made no modifications and learned how to use each system.

Me and my wife compared both last week. We put our money down on a M&P9C. She far and away shot the M&P better than any semi-auto we’ve tried (G19, XD9, FNS and FNX). We wanted an external safety mounted on the frame and in our opinion the M&P has the best.

The G19 feels like holding a 1x3 but I seem to shoot OK with it. I liked the FNX but my wife hated the complexity of DA/SA, a hammer and de-cocker.

The plastic, 9mm, semi-auto market is so competitive I don’t think you can go wrong with anything made by a major player. I say rent the ones you're interested in and pick the one you shoot best with.

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